Consumer Focus Groups and Usability Testing for Proposed Telephone Arbitration Survey

Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

2014_01_17_Attachment_A_FG_MG

Consumer Focus Groups and Usability Testing for Proposed Telephone Arbitration Survey

OMB: 3170-0024

⚠️ Notice: This form may be outdated. More recent filings and information on OMB 3170-0024 can be found here:

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Attachment A: Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative
Feedback on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”
(OMB Control Number 3170-0024)

Credit Card Arbitration Telephone Survey:
Moderator Guide for Focus Groups

Introduction (2 minutes)
My name is ___________ and I work for a company called ICF International. We are a research
company that conducts interviews and focus groups on behalf of different organizations across
the country. For this specific project, we are working on behalf of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an agency of the Federal
government whose role is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work
for Americans — whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or
using any number of other consumer financial products. Today, we are going to be talking about
several topics related to credit cards. I want to be clear up front that I am not an expert in this
topic—you can ask me questions, but I may not be able to answer them. This focus group will
take about 90 minutes, and you may take a break and step out at any time.
Before we begin, has everyone had an opportunity to read and sign the informed consent
document? Does anyone have any questions about it?
I’d like to remind you of a few things that were on that document.


We will be videotaping this discussion, to make sure we don’t miss anything that you
say.



Behind the glass, there are people observing this focus group from both the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau and my company, ICF International.



Everything that you say in this discussion will be private. Your name will never be used
in any of our reports.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Section I: Introduction (8 minutes)
1. I’d like everyone to think about the credit card that you use most often for personal
purchases—that is, not debit cards or cards you use for business or corporate
expenses. Then I’d like to go around the room and have everyone tell me (a) how
long ago they got that card, and (b) how they got it. In other words, did you get an
offer through the mail or the Internet, did you sign up in person, etc. If you don’t
remember the details, or exactly when you got it, you can just tell me as much as you
remember. Note to moderator: If participant indicates that they can’t remember
anything about how they obtained the card, ask whether they have obtained any cards
more recently that they can talk about.
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2. Again, I’d like you to think about the card that you use most often for personal
purchases. If you have other cards, why do you use this one most often? (probe for all
reasons including customer service, rewards, annual fees, interest rate, brand
affinity, etc.)

Section II: Decision-making Regarding Credit Cards (20 minutes)
Now, I’d like to talk more about your decision-making process when you get a new credit card.
3. First, I want to get your input about the right phrase to use when talking about this.
Imagine that you received a credit card offer in the mail, and you filled out the form
and sent it back, and then a few weeks later you received the card and started using it.
What would you say you just did?
a. If group has difficulty coming up with ideas, start discussion with three possibilities:- “got a new credit card”, “applied for a new credit card,” and “signed up for a new
credit card”—and elicit additional ideas.
b. Put list of possibilities on board and have group vote on which option they think is
most appropriate.1
c. If relevant, probe to see whether people’s responses differ based on how they got
their card, whether it was their first card, or the type of card (i.e., whether they
obtained it through a “pre-approved” offer).
4. Imagine that you see an offer for a new card. What factors would you consider when
deciding whether or not to sign up for that card? (probe for all answers)
5. Would you compare the offer to other cards somehow? If so, how?
a. How would you know whether this card was better or worse than other credit cards
you could get?
6. If you heard that someone had “comparison shopped” for credit cards, what would
that mean to you? What would you think that person had done?
a. Have you ever comparison shopped for credit cards? If so, explain what you did and
why you did it.

Section III: Consumers’ Willingness to Sue Credit Card Companies (10
minutes)
7. Imagine that when you read your credit card statement one month, you are sure that
your monthly credit card statement has an incorrect charge. What would you do?
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This guide uses several different phrases, including “get a new credit card” and “sign up for a new credit card.” To
the extent possible, the moderator should proceed to use the phrase that the participants prefer for the remainder of
the focus group session.

a. Imagine that you called customer service and worked with the agents, but that you
couldn’t get the error fixed. What would you do then? (If participants say that they
would continue working with customer service, would ask for a supervisor, etc.,
continue probing to see what their final action would be—i.e., whether at some point
they would consider suing or taking other action.)
8. Do you think you have the right to sue your credit card company if you thought they
had overcharged you and wouldn’t fix the error?
a. What do you think gives you that right? Is it in your contract?
b. If you sued your credit card company, who decides if you win?
9. There are two different phrases that people sometimes use when talking about legal
action that people take—they either say that someone is “suing a company,” or that
someone is “suing a company in court.” Do you think there is a difference between
the two, or do they mean the same thing?
a. What do you think is the difference?
10. If you had an incorrect charge you could not get fixed by talking to the company, how
likely is it that you would ever sue your credit card company over the incorrect
charge? Why or why not?
a. How large would the incorrect charge have to be in order for you to seriously
consider suing the credit card company?
b. Why is that?
c. Now I’d like you to imagine that the company set up a different way in which you
could bring claims against them if you had a disagreement. Now, if you wanted to
bring claims against them: (display the following bulleted list on a flip chart)
 You would go to an independent private decision maker, rather than a court.
 The company says the process is simple enough that you can represent yourself
and would not have to hire a lawyer.
 They similarly say that you don’t have to pay any court fees.
First, is there anything here that you don’t completely understand? Are there any
words or phrases that you don’t understand?
i. If you brought claims before this private decision maker under this system, rather
than in court, would you still consider it “suing” the company? Why?
ii. What words would you use instead of “suing” to describe bringing claims against
the company before this independent decision maker? Do you think those words
are a better description of what you’re doing than “suing”?
iii. If this was the system the company set up, would you be any more or less likely to
bring claims against them in the new system than sue them? Why? If this was
your only way you could bring your claim, would you use it?
iv. Earlier, I asked you all how large an incorrect charge would have to be in order
for you to seriously consider suing the credit card company in court. Your
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answers were (give a brief summary of answers). If the company set up this
system, before an independent private decision maker, how large would an
incorrect charge have to be then in order for you to seriously consider bringing
claims against them?
(Cover bulleted list on flip chart.)
11. If you did want to bring claims against your credit card company, what would be the
first thing you would do?
a. How long do you think it would take before the lawsuit was over?
b. What are the kinds of costs do you think you would have to pay if you sued your
credit card company?
c. What do you estimate would be your total expense if you sued your credit card
company?
d. How much of your personal time do you think it would take to sue your credit card
company?
e. Would the amount of time that it would take affect your decision whether or not to
sue?

Section IV: Familiarity with Dispute Resolution Terminology (20 minutes)
Now I’m going to ask you about some technical terms and phrases that you may or may not have
ever heard of. Please be honest and tell me if you have never heard of a particular phrase, or if
you don’t know what it means.
12. How many of you have heard the term “dispute resolution”?
a. What do you think it means?
b. Have you ever heard of the term in relation to credit cards? If so, when?
13. How many of you have heard the term “binding arbitration”?
a. What do you think it means?
“Binding arbitration” refers to a process through which people and companies can have their
disagreements decided by a neutral third party who is paid to decide disputes. The results from
this process are binding—that is, with very limited exceptions, they can’t be appealed in a court
by either side.
14. Obviously, another way that people settle disagreements with companies is by suing
them. How do you think going through “binding arbitration” with a company would
be different from suing them?
15. If you had a disagreement with a company, would you prefer going through binding
arbitration with a company, or suing them in court?
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a. Why?
b. In what ways do you think binding arbitration might be preferable to a lawsuit?
c. In what ways might a lawsuit be preferable?
16. How many of you have heard the term “small claims court”?
a. What do you think it means?
b. Is taking a company to small claims court the same thing as suing them?
i. If not, how is taking a company to small claims court different from suing them?
ii. Would you use words other than “suing” to describe bringing claims against
someone in small claims court? What words would that be?
iii. Which do you think would be easier—taking a company to small claims court, or
suing them in another court? Why?
17. How many of you have heard the term “opt out”?
a. What do you think it means?
b. Have you ever been offered the opportunity to “opt out” of something? If so, when?
c. Has your credit card company ever offered you the opportunity to “opt out” of any of
the terms and conditions of your account?
i. If so, which ones? How did they let you know you could opt out?
d. Has your credit card company ever offered you the opportunity to “reject” any of the
terms and conditions of your account?
i. If so, which ones? How did they let you know you could reject these terms or
conditions?
ii. How do you think “rejecting” a term or condition would be different from “opting
out”?

Section V: Familiarity with Class Action Lawsuits (10 minutes)
18. How many of you have heard the term “class action”?
a. What do you think it means?
i. What is the difference between a “class action” lawsuit and other types of
lawsuits?
19. How many of you have participated in a class action?
a. What did you do to participate?

b. If I used the phrase: “participating in a class action” would it mean the same thing
as “filing a claim form in response to a notice” to a class action? If not, what are
the differences between them?
c. If I used the phrase: “joining a class action” would it mean the same thing as
“filing a claim form in response to a notice” to a class action? If not, what are the
differences between them?
d. If I used the phrase: “suing in a class action” would it mean the same thing as
“filing a claim form in response to a notice” to a class action? If not, what are the
differences between them?
20. What are the kinds of costs for you if you filed a claim in a class action?
a. What do you estimate would be your total expense if you filed a claim in a class
action lawsuit against your credit card company?
21. How many of you have ever gotten a form in the mail offering you the chance to get
money by filing a claim in a class action?
a. If so, what did the form say?
b. Did you fill out the form? If so, how long did it take you?
c. If you did not fill out the form, why not?
d. How much money, if any, did the form state that you would receive?
e. Do you recall how much money you received? If so, how much?
22. How much money would a claim form have to offer you in order for it to be worth
filling out? Why?

Section VI: Strategies for Improving Response Rate (10 minutes)
One of the reasons that the federal government is holding these focus groups is that they are
planning on conducting a telephone survey to learn more about people’s understanding of their
credit card accounts. Obviously, they want to encourage as many people as possible to agree to
take the survey when they are called.
23. Imagine that you were called to take this survey. Is there anything that the interviewer
could say that would make you more likely to agree to take the survey? Respondents
will likely have responses that aren’t relevant (“they could say they are paying me,”
“say the survey will be short,” etc.). Guide respondents toward answers that relate to
the actual text that an interviewer would read in the intro to the survey.
a. Would it make you any more or less likely to participate if the interviewer said that
the research study was being conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, the government agency that is responsible for regulating banks and other
financial companies?
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b. Would it make you any more or less likely to participate if the interviewer said that
the information collected would be used in a report to Congress?
c. Would it make you any more or less likely to participate if the interviewer said that
the research study was required under the Dodd-Frank Act?
d. Would it make you any more or less likely to participate if the interviewer said that
the research study was required by Congress?
e. Is there anything else that the interviewer could say that would make you more likely
to participate?

False Close and Conclusion (10 minutes)
Moderator will excuse him or herself and tell the participants that he or she is going to speak
with the observers to see whether they have any follow-up questions. If observers have follow-up
questions or topics to revisit, the remainder of the focus group will be spent addressing those
questions or topics. At the conclusion of the focus group, the moderator will thank the
participants for their assistance and lead them to the front desk.

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Author	Amy Newell
File Modified	2014-01-23
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